staged to sell ~ styled to perfection

All posts tagged: Interior Redesign

Is your home running low on personality? Feeling nice, but not quite finished? A little blah? One of the best and easiest ways to add character, personality and a little color to almost any space is with books. Yes books! You probably already have some hanging around or collecting dust in your attic. Of course, books are the foundation of a well styled bookcase. But they can be so much more. Use them to elevate a small piece of art. Or a lamp. Or a knick-knack. Or something green. Try them in your kitchen. In your entry way. On your coffee table. On your mantle. Or as a sweet centerpiece. They can even stand in for a side table. Don’t have many books? Not to worry. They can be picked up for next to nothing at thrift stores, library sales and yard sales. And did you know that there’s a website, Books by the Foot, that sells them by age, color, or subject? …

We received a lot of feedback on our recent foyer transformation post. Thank you! Some of you even asked for instructions. So here you go… First off, this is not a project for the faint of heart. My husband and I went into it thinking that with a long, four day weekend ahead we should have plenty of time to knock it out. Three months later, I realized we were so very wrong. What was I thinking taking on this project with a very active family and a new puppy?! That said, I am thrilled with the outcome and my husband was even more excited that we saved so much money doing it ourselves. Though it took us a few months, you can’t beat a transformation like this for less than $200. Here is a list of tools and materials we used: plastic drop cloths safety goggles dust masks ear plugs latex gloves painter’s tape stripper gel (we used a half gallon of Citristrip) cheap paintbrushes for stripper disposable rags metal scraper metal 5 in 1 tool small brass …

Dear Readers, A friend of mine asked me to write a post about living rooms and how they’ve evolved in some homes into spaces that aren’t, well, living rooms. This has made me really curious about how people are using their living rooms these days. And by living room I mean a room in addition to your family room/den. Generally not the space that you would have a TV and use for every day, casual, family hanging out. Can you take a minute to participate in our short living room survey? I’ll share the results and some ideas for making your living room more ‘livable’ in a future post. And… one lucky participant will receive the gift of a living room redesign plan! Family rooms/dens also eligible for this give-away. We will work with you using your photographs to create a high-level plan for you to implement that will include suggestions for colors, furniture arrangement, and art and accessory placement. Be sure to click “vote” at the bottom of each of the following 2 polls. …

After going on and on about beige recently in this post, I thought maybe it was time for a little chat about color. Have you heard about the color of the year, Pantone’s “Radiant Orchid”? And it is really quite radiant! Not for wallflowers. This bold shade of purple really stands out. Could you picture a whole room full? How about a piece of furniture? Personally, if nothing else I could definitely live with this – and love it! If you’re not familiar with Pantone, they do make paint, but they are also know as the global authority on color. Their ‘color of the year’ selection is used by many consumer manufacturing companies to guide their designs for future products. So be on the lookout for “Radiant Orchid”. I’m starting to notice it all over the place! Sherwin Williams has their own color of the year called “Exclusive Plum”. Still in the purple family, but a bit more sophisticated, lots more gray. It makes quite a statement in this space. And plum is lovely here …

Family rooms see a lot of action – second only to the kitchen in most homes for time spent hanging out. We helped a wonderful and very sweet family make their family room a much more pleasant place to be and I’m really excited share the results with you. This family room is quite long and narrow with only one solid wall. We see this layout often and it has it’s challenges. It also has a fireplace, which is fantastic, however in many homes having a fireplace in the family room becomes a battle of the focal points. TV vs. fireplace. In their previous arrangement, the TV and fireplace had been on one wall, competing for attention with each other. Also our clients wanted more seating, which seemed impossible with the current arrangement. Here’s the before: And here is the after… Quite a transformation, don’t you think? We normally wouldn’t want to put the sofa in front of windows – one of those “rules” of design. However, this space called for some rule …

Have you checked the expiration date on your window treatments lately? If you would use the words “swag”, “jabot” or “balloon” to describe them, it’s probably time for them to go. Do they look anything like this: or this: or this: Did you move in and put some of these “temporary” shades on your windows for privacy and never get around to replacing them? Do you have mini blinds that look like this? Or vertical blinds that look like this? If so, then you are in need of new window treatments if you want to keep your home looking fresh and up to date. This is a really tough issue for a lot of people. If you had draperies custom made for your windows you may have spent thousands of dollars. The thought of taking them down is pretty painful. But this is one of those things that can really make your home look dated and worn. The good news is that it doesn’t have to cost thousands to replace old with new. Here are …